Fundamentals of Physical Geography (geomorphology, climatology, hydrology)
Physical geography supplies the process knowledge behind landforms, weather and water. The exam tests geomorphic agents, atmospheric controls and drainage-basin terms, often through Kerala examples.
Core rules
- Endogenic forces build relief through tectonics and volcanism; exogenic forces weather, erode, transport and deposit.
- Weathering breaks rock in place; erosion removes and carries debris. Rivers, glaciers, wind and waves produce distinct landforms.
- The atmosphere is layered: troposphere weather, stratosphere ozone, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.
- Insolation varies with latitude, season and cloud; pressure gradients drive winds, modified by Coriolis force and friction.
- The hydrological cycle links evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff and storage; a drainage basin is the unit of study.
Worked example
Why does the windward side of the Western Ghats receive heavy rain while the leeward side is dry? Moist monsoon winds from the Arabian Sea are forced upward. Air expands and cools adiabatically, water vapour condenses, and orographic rain falls on the windward slope. Descending air on the leeward side warms and dries, creating a rain shadow. The reasoning links relief, lapse rates and condensation, not just mountains stop clouds.
Traps
Do not use weathering and erosion interchangeably. Do not say the Coriolis force causes winds; it deflects them. Do not confuse a drainage divide with a drainage pattern. Do not explain monsoon rain as only convection; relief and seasonal wind reversal matter.